Mmm. The water looks inviting, doesn't it? Just remember. No diving in. That glacial iciness will tear the life out of you.
Photo: Willow
As Mars in Scorpio squares Neptune-Chiron in Aquarius (exact October 22 during our 29th degree Aries Full Moon), it's time for another round of Deconstructing the New Age Meme Complex! *crowd cheers*
I really am tired of this game, folks, but once you've proven yourself an able contestant, they ask you back again and again...
So onto our show.
Neptune and Chiron in Aquarius are currently on the degree of the famed 'triple Aquarius conjunction' involving Neptune, Aquarius and Jupiter in the spring of 2009. There was an attempt to implant and anchor plenty of bullshit during that time as far as the direction into Aquarius, and now with Venus retrograde in Scorpio and a contingent of other planets and bodies in the sign creating ongoing squares over the next three months, we have a chance to dig it up, layer-by-layer.
The New Age beast is certainly morphing and replicating at record speed these days, desperate to make the leap - to cross the bridge, if you will - to sustain itself into Aquarius. It's a frenzied scrabble to the finish line, and as always, the hidden, embedded nature of it is being brought to the surface via Scorpio.
As I've said before, it's funny how those declaring themselves 'enlightened' and 'awakened' are the same people unconsciously promoting and reinforcing this form of spiritual fascism - all while vehemently denying doing so.
I've written about the 'edgy' brand of New Ager previously - developed as a predictable reaction to the love and light bliss bunny type.
And today, in honour of Saturn in Libra disposited by Venus retrograde in Scorpio, I'd like to talk about the 'bridge' New Ager, a variation on the theme claiming to be bridging 'light' and 'dark.'
Both edgy and bridge variations are similar in tone. Both declare to be too cool and aware of the 'dark' side of things for New Age status - yet both promote and reinforce the New Age paradigm through energy, ideology, and words. Listen closely. You'll hear the same jargon, the same idioms, and you'll see them funnel energy into the same New Age energetic pyramid schemes.
Both eschew the traditional New Age guru (old news!) yet subtly promote hierarchy of consciousness and those supposedly at the top of that hiearchy (they pretty much all want to be).
Both edgy and bridge variations are similar in tone. Both declare to be too cool and aware of the 'dark' side of things for New Age status - yet both promote and reinforce the New Age paradigm through energy, ideology, and words. Listen closely. You'll hear the same jargon, the same idioms, and you'll see them funnel energy into the same New Age energetic pyramid schemes.
Both eschew the traditional New Age guru (old news!) yet subtly promote hierarchy of consciousness and those supposedly at the top of that hiearchy (they pretty much all want to be).
Both reject mainstream New Age standards like The Secret as hokey or low brow yet reinforce the "creating your own reality," "manifesting abundance," "raising your vibration," and "enlightenment/ascension/awakening" memes, among others.
Despite protestations, both varieties are firmly entrenched in the New Age meme complex. Controlled opposition at its finest.
And while differentiating themselves and voicing their surface critiques of the New Age paradigm, they remain firmly within its folds, furthering its objectives and using the collected stolen energy to buoy and sustain themselves beyond the "common herd." They know what signs their paycheques - energetically and/or financially - and they're careful not to cross any lines. Membership has its cosy, buffering privileges, and they never even come close to the root truth with their critiques.
But you see how tricky things are getting here, how embedded and subtle things are getting. You see how strong that Scorpionic X-Ray vision has to be.
Despite protestations, both varieties are firmly entrenched in the New Age meme complex. Controlled opposition at its finest.
And while differentiating themselves and voicing their surface critiques of the New Age paradigm, they remain firmly within its folds, furthering its objectives and using the collected stolen energy to buoy and sustain themselves beyond the "common herd." They know what signs their paycheques - energetically and/or financially - and they're careful not to cross any lines. Membership has its cosy, buffering privileges, and they never even come close to the root truth with their critiques.
But you see how tricky things are getting here, how embedded and subtle things are getting. You see how strong that Scorpionic X-Ray vision has to be.
The gut feelings are not as strong when the poison has been diluted so carefully and the presentation is so slick and glossy direct-marketed.
In order to make the leap into Aquarius, the New Age paradigm needs fresh blood. And appealing to those labelled with a 'darker' awareness of human reality on this planet seems just the ticket, just the bridge, to do so.
One false aspect of this appeal to the supposed darker side of things, among many, is the fundamental manipulation and misrepresentation of their concepts of light and dark. The very concepts of light and dark they use exist under the New Age umbrella, so both edgy and bridge New Agers are working with the corrupted language, concepts, and energy of that paradigm.
A major issue is the demonization of 'the dark.' (Did I mention most of the New Age is made up of socially privileged white people?)
In order to make the leap into Aquarius, the New Age paradigm needs fresh blood. And appealing to those labelled with a 'darker' awareness of human reality on this planet seems just the ticket, just the bridge, to do so.
One false aspect of this appeal to the supposed darker side of things, among many, is the fundamental manipulation and misrepresentation of their concepts of light and dark. The very concepts of light and dark they use exist under the New Age umbrella, so both edgy and bridge New Agers are working with the corrupted language, concepts, and energy of that paradigm.
A major issue is the demonization of 'the dark.' (Did I mention most of the New Age is made up of socially privileged white people?)
In the New Age paradigm, dark is generally synonymous with bad or evil and light is synonymous with good. Yes, they're now cosying up to the concept of 'dark,' but underlying the ideology, this is still so. The ultimate goal is to 'transcend the dark' and to move things back into the 'light' - their New Age version of light.
The same construct is applied to negative and positive - negative is bad/evil/unenlightened and positive is good/"high vibrating"/enlightened.
In nature, of course, this is not the case. Dark and light co-exist, just as negative and positive charges co-exist. They're yin and yang. The Sun rises every day and the world is light; it goes down every night and the world becomes moonlit dark.
Within much of the New Age understanding of energy dynamics and what is going on on the planet, there is a polarized battle going on between light and dark in which the goal is for the 'lightworkers' or the enlightened ones to raise the consciousness of the common herd to the point where 'the light' is victorious over 'the dark.' The dark (again, made synonymous with evil) is something to be overcome, consumed, stamped out by the light and those supposedly carrying more of it.
This paradigm keeps spiritual egos well fed about how much more enlightened and aware and privy to the inside scoop the followers are since they know "both sides" of the story. How it's their SERVICE and their DUTY to raise the consciousness of the masses to match that of their own on both false light and false dark ends of the spectrum.
(Speaking on behalf of the 'common herd': No, thanks.)
This dark/light polarization and the supposed battle between the two is a paradigm set up by and for the New Age. It's a manipulation of energy for its own ends - the siphoning and stealing of individual's spiritual energy, authentic experience, and power.
Words are powerful. Words have energy. Words catalyze events and changes. Those behind the New Age and behind all other hierarchical control mechanisms know this.
New Age was originally set up with a language of its own - certain key words and phrases that could be spoken, like a secret handshake, so that members could identify each other on the down low. So make no mistake: to this day, the New Age language and terminology are very important in the recognition of others of this paradigm, in the spread of these memes, and in the drawing of fresh blood into this pseudo-spiritual pyramid scheme. The New Age language and voice has an energy all its own, and once you can identify it, there's no mistaking it, despite the ever-more-subtle applications.
The implanting of certain idioms, catch phrases, and concepts has always been a major part of the spread of New Age. This is an implanting of manipulated energy. They call it "raising consciousness." I call it energy-stealing lobotomizing.
The diluting of the power of language is a major part of the control mechanism.
Specific words voicing specific aspects of our authentic experience as human beings on this planet are needed to create the changes we need to see. The watered down, cliched NewAgeSpeak is very effective in keeping people from the real potency points, especially related to the more difficult aspects of human experience. This, in turn, allows the power of the so-called 'darker' energies to be used by the few against the many with little censure.
So while working within this same New Age paradigm and speaking its language, the bridges these individuals are trying to forge are really not entering any new territory at all. It's energy being moved around for the same ends, being fed into the same end goals. More tail-chasing.
The same construct is applied to negative and positive - negative is bad/evil/unenlightened and positive is good/"high vibrating"/enlightened.
In nature, of course, this is not the case. Dark and light co-exist, just as negative and positive charges co-exist. They're yin and yang. The Sun rises every day and the world is light; it goes down every night and the world becomes moonlit dark.
Within much of the New Age understanding of energy dynamics and what is going on on the planet, there is a polarized battle going on between light and dark in which the goal is for the 'lightworkers' or the enlightened ones to raise the consciousness of the common herd to the point where 'the light' is victorious over 'the dark.' The dark (again, made synonymous with evil) is something to be overcome, consumed, stamped out by the light and those supposedly carrying more of it.
This paradigm keeps spiritual egos well fed about how much more enlightened and aware and privy to the inside scoop the followers are since they know "both sides" of the story. How it's their SERVICE and their DUTY to raise the consciousness of the masses to match that of their own on both false light and false dark ends of the spectrum.
(Speaking on behalf of the 'common herd': No, thanks.)
This dark/light polarization and the supposed battle between the two is a paradigm set up by and for the New Age. It's a manipulation of energy for its own ends - the siphoning and stealing of individual's spiritual energy, authentic experience, and power.
Words are powerful. Words have energy. Words catalyze events and changes. Those behind the New Age and behind all other hierarchical control mechanisms know this.
New Age was originally set up with a language of its own - certain key words and phrases that could be spoken, like a secret handshake, so that members could identify each other on the down low. So make no mistake: to this day, the New Age language and terminology are very important in the recognition of others of this paradigm, in the spread of these memes, and in the drawing of fresh blood into this pseudo-spiritual pyramid scheme. The New Age language and voice has an energy all its own, and once you can identify it, there's no mistaking it, despite the ever-more-subtle applications.
The implanting of certain idioms, catch phrases, and concepts has always been a major part of the spread of New Age. This is an implanting of manipulated energy. They call it "raising consciousness." I call it energy-stealing lobotomizing.
The diluting of the power of language is a major part of the control mechanism.
Specific words voicing specific aspects of our authentic experience as human beings on this planet are needed to create the changes we need to see. The watered down, cliched NewAgeSpeak is very effective in keeping people from the real potency points, especially related to the more difficult aspects of human experience. This, in turn, allows the power of the so-called 'darker' energies to be used by the few against the many with little censure.
So while working within this same New Age paradigm and speaking its language, the bridges these individuals are trying to forge are really not entering any new territory at all. It's energy being moved around for the same ends, being fed into the same end goals. More tail-chasing.
These self-declared bridge creators are trying to build bridges in thin air that have no right even existing, using common ground that is not there and applying their paradigm in a blanket way over people who do not care to be brought into their fold, who do not care to be "bridged." And who would not agree with what they intend to have coming across those bridges.
As the personal planets pass through alchemical Scorpio, we have the ability to accept and integrate the forces of light and dark, yin and yang, negative and positive within ourselves and within our relations with others. We can understand the power and purpose of both light and dark, working in partnership just as they do in nature, and harness the power of this for use in our own ways - to bring about the changes we need to experience on this planet.
New Age control of 'the dark' keeps people from a real understanding and integration of those energies - both in the individual and in the larger societies. Segmenting and co-opting the 'darker' energies and making them New Age-trendy keeps people unable to identify and work with these energies in an effective way in themselves and in their lives.
As the personal planets pass through alchemical Scorpio, we have the ability to accept and integrate the forces of light and dark, yin and yang, negative and positive within ourselves and within our relations with others. We can understand the power and purpose of both light and dark, working in partnership just as they do in nature, and harness the power of this for use in our own ways - to bring about the changes we need to experience on this planet.
New Age control of 'the dark' keeps people from a real understanding and integration of those energies - both in the individual and in the larger societies. Segmenting and co-opting the 'darker' energies and making them New Age-trendy keeps people unable to identify and work with these energies in an effective way in themselves and in their lives.
Because so many who have been enveloped into New Age have spent most of their time denying, fearing, or manipulating the dark, the skills are not there to go as deeply as we need to go en masse. The New Age paradigm just does not allow for it.
And so we get the skimming by and glossing over that are so prevalent. With Mars, Eros, Venus Rx and Vesta following Pallas Athene's tracks in Scorpio along with the strategic feminine positioning of the asteroids, skimming by and glossing over just don't cut it. Those times have long passed.
A self-serving blanket apology with no responsibility taken for the behaviours and disregard that made the apology necessary in the first place. A Psych 101 textbook analysis while glossing over the real underlying issues. A motivation not to make amends and do right but to free oneself from any responsibility, to absolve oneself without any personal change required. A public manipulation. Serial misuse and ill treatment of the feminine, of a woman, of women. A misuse of another's energy to strengthen oneself and achieve certain personal goals with nothing of value returned.
The Divine Feminine is not buying it, and neither am I.
That's one bridge I'm not interested in crossing.
- "Kali is free from the illusory covering, for she is beyond all maya or 'false consciousness.'" -
And so we get the skimming by and glossing over that are so prevalent. With Mars, Eros, Venus Rx and Vesta following Pallas Athene's tracks in Scorpio along with the strategic feminine positioning of the asteroids, skimming by and glossing over just don't cut it. Those times have long passed.
A self-serving blanket apology with no responsibility taken for the behaviours and disregard that made the apology necessary in the first place. A Psych 101 textbook analysis while glossing over the real underlying issues. A motivation not to make amends and do right but to free oneself from any responsibility, to absolve oneself without any personal change required. A public manipulation. Serial misuse and ill treatment of the feminine, of a woman, of women. A misuse of another's energy to strengthen oneself and achieve certain personal goals with nothing of value returned.
The Divine Feminine is not buying it, and neither am I.
That's one bridge I'm not interested in crossing.
- "Kali is free from the illusory covering, for she is beyond all maya or 'false consciousness.'" -
9 comments:
I hate that some actually believe that there is a "dark side". And that humans blame it all the time for the sh*t they pull.
What I'd like to ask of these folks is: ever heard of just plain responsibility for your actions? That you have had, have, and will continue to have choices to make while you're here? So instead of being explosively bitter about where you've come up short in your life or about your aging experience and weight gain, pull up your pants, take a walk and, for goodness sakes, stop hating those who seem to have their sh*t a little more together than you do!
Ugh. Sorry Willow. Just had to say all of this. And none of it's directed at you, but you know that.
Great post. I haven't been here in a while, but am sure glad I've stopped in :).
The thing that's funny to me about public figures like this, is they really aren't saying anything. Their message is more or less their fees in a fluffy pink cloud wrapper, it's almost like hypnosis, and it's crass as hell. I've encountered self proclaimed gurus, shamans, healers, 'spiritual leaders', even had a small run-in with Branch Dividians that were recruiting once, and it's all the exact same pap, you are spot on about the language patterns.
As far as I'm concerned, there's us, our predicament, and however we'd like to move on from here, and we can value one another or not, but compassion and forward motion do not require a secret handshake or decoder ring, folks.
An interesting piece that seems to put me in the camp which you are debasing here - exposing inauthenticities as it were. I am a deeply spiritual and anti-religious person and I observe my creative journey and social growth over time. In terms of my water work I am the quintessential 'newager' as I have been working with Emoto's suggestions as well as Callum Coates who takes his lineage from Viktor Schauberger. I have had a student and environmental professor researching my work and we joke at my impulse and their reticence. What is coming out of the research is unexpected and encouraging laying a firm basis for future students to further the investigation. If an impulsive water freak with her angels and nixies had not been so brazen then science would not have anything to unearth and that we respect one another is hopeful.
Then yesterday I had to represent a boy I have taken in from the ganglands and am helping to complete his schooling. He had been expelled for possession of weed. At the end of the hearing - which took away the expulsion so that the child can complete his schooling - the headmaster gave me an article talking about why mothers should lessen their involvement in teenagers' lives...should 'step off the bridge from boyhood to manhood'...
I am just slightly perplexed by inaccuracies and anger.
Yeah, it's best that New Age people don't read here, Natasha. They generally don't get what I'm throwing down.
But let me guess...you're really into mermaids.
heehee
I also consider New Age a religion, so it's impossible to be anti-religion while being New Age.
Saying you are opposed to the traditional religions would be a more accurate statement, I think.
Jamie - hypnosis is what it is. There is a tone and a use of language in combination that just sort of glazes people over, keeping them submissive and compliant to the "enlightened spiritual authority figure" and sucking it all in. And they're getting really good at the subtlety, so it's not as if they're straight-up cliches that you can pick out immediately. It's getting very sophisticated with the bringing in of 'the dark' and such.
And of course, it's not true compassion coming from the New Age...it's more like them floating over everything and observing it from their 'more highly enlightened' viewpoint and tsk tsking - not really taking on their humanity in any deep way. There is an elitist detachment in the New Age energy that turns my stomach. Always has, I'd say.
I would also add that really, there is no such thing as bring deeply spiritual. Spirit is. Every moment that we draw breath we are walking a spiritual path. Wisdom is. We don't create it, it's just there, and we grow into it, (or not). That may very well mean there is less to talk about in that regard (and New Agers do love to talk). There is no such thing as an inclusive elitist. If your attention is on both your 'spiritual path' while simultaneously 'hating religion', you haven't really committed to anything. I would actually side with someone who had fervent faith and was a genuine person over someone who doesn't know what they believe.
Do you really want to help this child by finding out what his real needs are, right here, right now (even if that doesn't include schooling) or do you want to shape him into what you yourself imagine would be more appropriate, less challenging? What are your motivations? There can be selfish service, and it has everything to do with avoiding our own pain, alleviating our own guilty consciences, and very little to do with even seeing other people, right in front of our faces (they are people, BTW).
I'm not saying don't step in, but don't do it because you want to make yourself feel better. That's an awfully big burden for a kid who's already in trouble.
Dear Willow,
I was watching this video, and thought about sharing it with you ~ Thank you for your work...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0J3u0zdpWk&feature=related
Blessings to all~ Bitty
i loved what you wrote about merging the light and the dark, i've found myself being able to do that moreso than before. it's as if i can embrace my dark feelings and recognize that i accept that side and move on, thank for the post!
funny, this remind me of a woman I met who runs a spiritual healing center. She would judge everyone on how much ego they had, and would not stop talking and obsessing about the topic of the ego, and would actually talk shit about the ego...ironic.
Yeah, "transcending the ego" is a big one in New Age. It's part of their ploy since we actually need a healthy ego to get through this life without falling prey to people like her. heehee
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